The Recipe for Lighting America’s Best Known Kitchen
The Nation’s Most Famous Kitchen Undergoes Renovation Down to the Last Detail
New York City may well be the communications capital of the world, but one of the 
largest and best known media and marketing companies the world over has its headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa. That company is Meredith Corporation, the renowned publisher of decorating magazines like Better Homes and Gardens, Family Circle and Ladies’ Home Journal. Meredith is the place where the latest trends in interior decor percolate down to the rest of society and appetizing recipes for the company’s many book and TV holdings are whipped up.
A mecca for style and fashionable interiors, Meredith is a popular stop for marketers and arbiters of taste from around the country. Early in 2005, it was also the destination of a marketing team from Leviton Manufacturing, who joined with Meredith’s editors to exchange ideas, discuss the latest design trends and unveil new electrical wiring products. One of these was a newly introduced line of residential grade switches, outlets and lighting controls that Leviton calls its Acenti Collection. The products were co-developed by industrial design giant, IDEO, and introduced the previous month at the International Builders’ Show. There they caught the eye of a Wall Street Journal reporter who described one of the products in the line, a receptacle capable of accepting three plugs, as “among the biggest stars” of the show.
With that kind of publicity boding well for the future of the product offering, the Leviton team was eager to present the new Collection to Meredith’s editors. The unveiling of the product offering was one of many interesting exchanges that had taken place during an informative editorial roundtable session between Meredith’s editors and Leviton’s marketing group.
Given Meredith’s impressive credentials and industry leadership, its staff regularly hosts visitors, from Italian chefs to cook-off participants and manufacturers, so rolling out the red-carpet for the Leviton team was second nature. As part of the day’s activities, a tour of Meredith’s sprawling facilities was also on the agenda.
One of the main highlights of the tour was a walk through Meredith’s newly-renovated test kitchen. Here is where recipes for its famous Better Homes and GardensCookbook and leading magazine titles are prepared, taste-tested and offered up as recipes for “public consumption.”
Meredith’s new test kitchen area was something to feast upon. Consisting of ten separate test kitchen bays, it also contained a separate showcase area to stage special gatherings and events. Both the test kitchen space and showcase kitchen areas were outfitted with the latest refrigerators, dishwashers, ranges and stovetops and countertops and sported unique concepts like space-saving appliance garages, which combined casual American style and state-of-the-art, contemporary charm.
Prior to the renovation, Meredith had only the test kitchen area which consisted of eight separate food preparation bays. The need for a larger area for entertaining guests and hosting events caused Meredith to add the new showcase kitchen. The old test kitchen design had become dated and was in need of a “facelift,” said Karol Nickell, Editor in Chief of Better Homes and Gardens,
In 2004, Meredith set upon that face lift with the goal of creating a cutting-edge, culinary environment that combined high-performance light fixtures, versatility and style, and provided the ideal atmosphere to create mouth-watering meals and recipes. Completed in 2005, the finished kitchen consisted of approximately 5,000 square feet, 1,500 of which was devoted to its showcase area. Beautifully appointed, the redesigned kitchen dazzled the visitors from Leviton with its stylish design, ergonomic features and clever use of space. They were impressed with the kitchen’s cabinetry, floor and countertop finishes, state-of-the-art appliances and other fine appointments, all except for one small detail: the old, ordinary electrical switches and outlets on the walls which didn’t complement the kitchen’s new design.
Leviton’s Director of Residential Marketing Jay Sherman ran back to the meeting room where samples of the Leviton Acenti® devices had been left during the morning roundtable and brought them into the kitchen to show the tour hosts how adding new wiring devices and dimmers could provide the perfect finishing touch to their renovation project.
He held the Acenti dimmer on the wall over the existing light switch installed on the 
wall while discussing the dimmer’s unique form factor and carefully rendered detailing, down to its soft signature blue LED. Senior Interior Designer at Better Homes and Garden’s Joe Boehm responded enthusiastically, his eyes lighting up, and later commented, “I liked the overall crispness of the design and clean lines, plus the absence of screws on the wall plates.” Under Boehm’s direction, Meredith replaced its existing switches and dimmers in the test kitchen and showcase with the all-new Acenti devices.
While kitchen makeovers are big business across America, many homeowners neglect to upgrade wiring devices and lighting controls to coordinate with their new interiors, even though the cost is minimal. Meredith’s redesigned kitchen integrates form and function, with creative accents like a granite sink with teak cutting boards that slide from the drain board to a rubbish opening and sliding glass cabinet doors behind the stove. The Acenti devices provided the ideal complement to the beauty of the kitchen’s décor.
Acenti devices feature simple lines and an elegant shape. Wherever they are installed, they show that every aspect of an interior design scheme has been carefully crafted from the planning stage through completion. Their ON/OFF push pads always return to a neutral position for a neat, uniform look. In multi-gang installations, Acenti wall plates have no frames between the devices, creating a streamlined look. Attractive and soothing LEDs in a distinctive cool blue tone offer a refreshing change from the more traditional green LEDs commonly found in electrical devices. The Acenti Collection’s unique Triplex receptacle and Sixplex surge protective receptacle are ideal for any kitchen area, saving space and helping avoid the clutter of plug-in strips.
Using lighting to change the look of a room is a key design ingredient. This was especially beneficial in Meredith’s case. By replacing its old switches with Acenti dimmers, the lighting in the test kitchen could flexibly be used to create mood and ambiance, while also delivering energy savings. Studies show that dimmers reduce energy consumption by as much as 30% by allowing lighting to be used at less than full brightness.
The goal of Meredith’s redesign, according to Lynn Blanchard, Meredith’s test kitchen director, was to allow visitors to feel as though they were a guest in someone’s home, rather than a visitor in a commercial facility. Bistro-style light fixtures built into a pot rack above a counter island are one of the features of the kitchen area that imparts a warm, cozy feeling. The formal dining room lined with a wall of books where elegant light fixtures are installed contribute to the warm setting. Acenti, available in seven earth tones, coordinates perfectly with this room and neutral tone or colored wall. Acenti wall plates, available in brushed stainless steel, polished chrome and 24k gold finishes, add a novel touch, enabling design options that coordinate with today’s stainless steel kitchens and high-end counters. The designers at Meredith chose to install Acenti devices in a sand color, a natural-looking tone that recedes into the wall color, creating a harmonious look throughout the kitchen.
Combining the best practical and aesthetic elements of an interior design often means paying as much attention to the small details as to the big picture. Meredith’s test kitchen is an example of sophisticated, elegant design at its highest level. With Leviton Acenti devices installed alongside Wolf Appliances, Sub-Zero products and built-in cabinetry, Meredith’s kitchen renovation shines as a world class example of stylish, functional makeover down to the last detail. For more information on Acenti, visit www.leviton.com./acenti.
Acenti® is a registered trademark of the Leviton Manufacturing Company, Inc.
Photos courtesy of Meredith Publishing Company.
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Pamela Winikoff is a public relations specialist and Sharon Moryl is a marketing specialist with Leviton Manufacturing, which this year celebrates its 100th year in business as North America’s leading provider of electrical and electronic wiring devices.
